The Sugar Mountain Public Golf Course may be the best kept surprise in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Located near Boone, Banner Elk and the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 18-hole public course is the “Every Player’s Club” in a region home to premiere private country club communities. The fabulous short course opened for play in 1974, the design of Frank Duane, previously the senior project manager for more than two decades for Robert Trent Jones, the undisputed dean of golf course architecture.
The par-64 layout maximizes every mountain view, babbling brook, and rhododendron forest on the 60-acre site. The course features nine par threes, eight par fours, and a single par five. At an elevation of 4,000 feet, the course features immaculate putting surfaces, hailed by those who play here as second to none. Did we mention the cool summer temperatures with typical afternoon highs in the 60s and 70s? Before or after your game, unwind on the big outdoor deck with lunch and snacks at the Caddyshack Cafe.